Chocolate panna cotta with warm berries and honey

Rich, creamy and a little wobbly, this dessert needs to be served cool from the fridge – ideally within 24 hours, as the gelatine continues to set the mixture as long as it sits in the fridge. Blackberries in warm honey go beautifully, but you can serve it just as it is if you prefer, or with salty caramel. Ripe sweet strawberries and cream would be the perfect accompaniment in summer. 

Serves 4

Ingredients for chocolate panna cotta with warm berries

a little oil, to oil the moulds 
200g good-quality dark chocolate (minimum 64% cocoa solids) 
2 sheets of leaf gelatine 
190ml whole milk 
250ml double cream 
100g caster sugar 
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways 

Blackberries and honey 
180ml honey (I like to use chestnut honey, or lighter acacia honey) 
200g blackberries

Preparation method for chocolate panna cotta with warm berries

Lightly oil 4 individual panna cotta moulds or other individual pudding basins, 200ml capacity. 

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt slowly, without stirring, in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water to cover for about 5 minutes to soften. 

In the meantime, put the milk, cream and sugar into a heavy-based pan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod and add these to the pan with the empty pod. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring once or twice to help dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and strain through a fine sieve onto the melted chocolate, stirring well to combine. 

If necessary, return the chocolate mixture to the pan and reheat gently – it needs to be very hot but not quite boiling. Take off the heat. Squeeze the gelatine to remove excess water and add to the hot cream, stirring to dissolve. 

Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, then pour into the prepared moulds. Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. 

For the accompanying berries, warm the honey in a small saucepan. Add two-thirds of the blackberries and cook gently until they have begun to bleed into the warm honey. Remove from the heat and stir through the remaining blackberries. 

To serve, quickly dip the base of each mould into hot water to loosen the base and sides, then run a small sharp knife around the top and invert the panna cotta onto a plate. Spoon the warm blackberries and honey over the panna cottas and serve, with a bowl of rich yellow cream on the side.